
------------------------------

From: tholome@dialup.francenet.fr (Eric Tholome)
Subject: Re: 911 From Unactivated Cell Phone?
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 1994 06:09:17 +0200


In article <telecom14.435.4@eecs.nwu.edu>, Pat wrote:

> For next: I hear a rumor that in order to bring California more in
> line with other states where cell phones are concerned, instead of 
the
> stores giving reduced prices with activation -- illegal there -- the
> carriers will begin offering a 'gift to new subscribers' equal to 
the
> discounted amount. And really, that is what is happening now in 
other
> parts of the country. RS and the other dealers are not *really* 
giving
> you a phone for free or for $25 or whatever ... yes, that's what 
they
> ring at the register, but the fact is the carrier they go through is
> paying them the difference after the fact. So the stores in CA 
cannot
> say to you, 'this phone is $25 with activation and $300 without 
activation.'
> What they can say is 'all phones are $300 ... and upon your decision 
to
> sign up with the carrier, the carrier will give you a gift of $275
> in exchange for your one/two year contract with their service.'

Interestingly enough, the same kind of thing is happening right here,
in France:

Just like in California, it is  illegal, here, to combine activation 
and
handset sells.

Until very recently (understand: until GSM arrived), the cellular
phone business was not even close to a mass market, so nobody cared
about this, but it is becoming one.

So, after selling handsets at their real price, some stores started
advertising them for a ridiculous price (around $100, or free), as
long as you got activation also. Other stores did complain that this
was illegal, but it seems that the government doesn't care about this,
since no action has be taken against these practices, that are indeed
becoming more and more frequent.

More recently, some stores which apparently do not want to be illegal,
but do not want to lose business either, are now offering the very
same deal as Pat describes: you pay the phone at its normal price, but
the carrier gives you a gift which approximately matches the price of
the handset.

As far as I remember, there are a couple of subtle differences with 
what
Pat describes:

the shop still advertises the combined price (i.e. handset price -
carrier gift);
you end up paying the real price of the handset when they ring it at 
the
register; and
the gift is a check that you'll have to cash at your favorite bank.


Eric Tholome                  | displayed with |               private 
account
23, avenue du Centre          | 100% recycled  |   
tholome@dialup.francenet.fr
78180 Montigny le Bretonneux  |___  pixels! ___|      phone: +33 1 30 
48 06 47
                    France        \________/     fax: same number, 
call first!


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Oh yes, indeed, it will have to be
strictly arms-length; that is the California carriers will simply quit
giving the money to the dealers to make up for the phones they sold at
a loss (as noted, in California illegal to force this issue on the
consumer) and start giving the money to the consumer directly instead.
But they probably won't, under the law, be able to tie the two 
together
saying 'here is a rebate for the phone you purchased'. Instead they
will probably have to say 'dear valued customer, in exchange for the
new contract you signed with us, here is a gift for you; a check for
$xxx which you can deposit in your bank or whatever.' ...   PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Dec 94 07:07:22 JST
From: palm@tokyo.rockwell.com (Stephen [kiwin] PALM)
Subject: Information on MNP 10/EC (Enhanced Cellular)


ROCKWELL'S NEW MODEM DSPs BREAK THROUGH DATA-OVER-CELLULAR LIMITATIONS 

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (Nov. 14, 1994) -- Rockwell Telecommunications
today announced modem DSPs providing cellular-specific signal-
processing technology optimized for data cellular communications.
Rockwell is applying its digital-signal processing expertise to handle
the necessary signal conditioning for data-over-cellular 
transmissions.  
Rockwell's Cellular Optimized Processor (COP) technology will maximize
data throughput with transmission reliability superior to existing
solutions.

Rockwell's COP technology is designed to overcome the hindrances of 
the analog cellular network.  Common cellular-network impairments -- 
frequent cellular base-station handoffs, dropouts, call interference,  
fading, echo and other types of signal distortions -- require signal-
conditioning techniques not addressed in traditional landline modems 
using  protocol-only solutions.  Rockwell's COP modem data pump 
recognizes the impairments and quickly recovers the signal.  The new 
COP technology will provide significant performance improvements when 
connected  to a standard landline modem and dramatic improvements when 
it appears on both ends of the connection.  

"The difficulty with using traditional landline modems with cellular
phones is that these modems were not designed to deal with the
frequent and sudden changes in an analog cellular network," said
Armando Geday, business director, Rockwell Modem Systems. "By
combining our COP technology with an enhanced error correction
protocol to maximize overall throughput, we can now give users what
they need for data cellular applications."

Rockwell and Microcom have worked together to improve the ubiquitous, 
adverse-channel MNP 10 protocol. The result, MNP 10EC(tm), is a total 
system solution which incorporates complementary enhancements to the 
existing MNP-10 protocol while combining Rockwell's new COP data 
pumps.  The data pump deals with physical connection issues.  The 
protocol's primary responsibility is to identify and correct data 
errors, and to optimize data throughput by making speed and packet-
size adjustments based on signal quality and error performance.

"Because the MNP 10EC protocol is compatible with the massive 
installed 
base of Rockwell modems implementing industry-accepted MNP 10," Geday
said, "the user gains a clear benefit over proprietary cellular
solutions requiring modems with the same non-standard scheme on both
sides of the connection."

Rockwell is implementing the new COP technology into V.32bis and 
higher speed modem products.

                               - - -

MICROCOM AND ROCKWELL JOINTLY DEVELOP MNP 10EC FOR CELLULAR DATA 
RELIABILITY

Nov. 14, 1994 -- Recognizing the needs of the mobile communications
marketplace, Microcom and Rockwell have developed enhancements to the
Microcom Networking Protocol(tm) Class 10 (MNP(r) 10) to further
optimize modem performance over circuit-switched cellular networks.
The new data cellular technology, MNP 10 Enhanced Cellular(tm) (MNP
10EC(tm)), is the culmination of the combined modem-technology
leadership from Rockwell and the protocol expertise of Microcom.

MNP 10EC offers five primary benefits to users, including:

Higher ratio of initial modem connections -- Users get connected and 
stay connected.

Quicker initial connections -- Time between initial line connection 
and data transmission has been lowered by shortening the initial 
billing delay and speeding up the initial modem handshakes.

Backward compatibility to both MNP 10 and LAPM -- Users will see
increased connectivity and overall throughputs even if MNP 10EC is on
only one modem.

Greater call completion ratio -- Fewer data connections are dropped; 
connections fall forward to the highest speed possible more quickly.

Faster data throughputs -- Provides higher average throughput 
speeds, lowering cellular charges and increasing user productivity.

Early independent tests indicate that MNP 10EC connects up to 25 
percent better than ETC and exhibits 30 percent higher throughput 
rates.

MNP 10EC works with Rockwell's recently announced digital signal
processors, Enhanced Cellular data pumps, by integrating complementary
cellular enhancements to the market-accepted MNP 10 protocol which was
originally developed for noisy landline conditions.  The analog
circuit-switched network poses particular impediments to cellular data
applications.  Initial enhancements to MNP 10 addressed many of these
obstacles; MNP 10EC is a "third generation" protocol.  It is not only
optimized to work with the Rockwell Cellular Optimized Processor (COP)
technology, but takes advantage of Microcom's broad experience in
adverse channel protocol development.

"Microcom intends to use Rockwell's new data pump technology and
implement it with MNP 10EC in its products," said Greg Pearson, senior
vice president of technology management for Microcom.  "We see these
combined technologies as appropriate for use across our product line,
from our TravelCard line of PCMCIA modems to Microcom's HDMS(tm)
central site modem pool."

"MNP 10EC will be deployed and accepted rapidly throughout the 
industry 
due to Rockwell's market leadership and the large installed base of
MNP 10 modems," said Armando Geday, business director, Rockwell Modem
Systems.  "providing the user with immediate improvement in cellular
applications and decrease in communications expense."

Microcom develops, markets and supports high-speed modems and remote
access solutions for PC users delivering secured access to information
and resources residing anywhere on the corporate network or remote PC.
Microcom products include Carbon Copy(tm) remote control software,
LANexpress(tm) remote LAN access systems, DeskPorte(tm), 
TravelPorte(tm) 
and TravelCard(tm) high-speed modems, HDMS(tm) dial-in network 
management 
systems, and Microcom Bridge/Router(tm) remote internetworking 
solutions.


Editorial contacts:

David Powers   (617) 551-1955   dpowers@smtp.microcom.com
Eileen Algaze  (714) 833-6849   eileen.algaze@nb.rockwell.com

                                -----

Stephen [kiwin] Palm                        TEL (Voice mail): +81-3-
5371-1564
Rockwell - Digital Communications Division                   COMNET: 
930-1564
Japan Engineering Design Center      (JST=PST+17hours)   FAX: +81-3-
5371-1507
  palm@tokyo.rockwell.com   s.palm@ieee.org   spalm@cmu.edu   
palm@itu.ch

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End of TELECOM Digest V14 #449
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